Bill Blakemore has worked for ABC NEWS for more than a quarter century, since 1970. He currently concentrates on science and the environment for World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, though he returns to his former overseas beats when the need arises. He is also the Chief Science Correspondent for ABC's new weekly science news show, Discovery News, on the Discovery Channel.

During his career at ABC NEWS, Blakemore has covered nine wars, most recently reporting from Baghdad during the 1991 Gulf War. Based overseas during his first 15 years with ABC NEWS, Blakemore has covered Middle Eastern, European and Indian politics and culture. Blakemore was named ABC NEWS' Rome bureau chief in 1978. During the first six years of John Paul's pontificate, Blakemore traveled on his plane on the Pope's first 21 trips abroad. He also covered in-depth the Pontiff's role in the peaceful dismantling of the Soviet Union.

He was also the anchor/correspondent for the 1983 ABC NEWS Special "The Pope and His Vatican," a one-hour report on Pope John Paul's daily work and behind-the-scenes activities at the Vatican. Blakemore was granted unprecedented access to the Pope and Vatican officials. His latest hour on the Pope, "John Paul: Statesman of Faith," currently airs on the Arts & Entertainment Network.

Prior to his current assignment, Blakemore covered the Palestinian uprising on the West Bank, filed reports for "Nightline in the Holy Land," filed numerous stories for World News Tonight on drugs, including reports on the crack epidemic and discoveries about the nature of addiction, and he conducted an investigation on pesticides on the anniversary of the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. He also anchored "Alcohol and Cocaine: The Secret of Addiction," a 1987 ABC NEWS documentary which won numerous awards.

Over the years, Blakemore has won many of the most prestigious journalism awards for reports on a wide range of subjects including Arab-Israeli relations; the politics of John Paul; the science of addictive drugs; the evolution of American education; the 1980 Italian earthquakes; and most recently, in 1995, the global environment crisis in bio-diversity. Blakemore is one of 40 American journalists chosen as a semifinalist by his peers from among 1,700 applicants to be NASA's first journalist in space.

During his overseas duty, Blakemore also reported on such major stories as the kidnapping and rescue of NATO General James Dozier, the kidnapping and murder of Italian politician Aldo Moro, the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, the African famine, and the Royal Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. He also reported on the year-long negotiations between Israel and Egypt prior to the signing of their historic peace treaty. He reported from Tehran during the Iranian revolution, which led to the overthrow of Shah Reza Pahlevi, and during the Iran hostage crisis.

From 1976 to 1978, Blakemore served as a London-based correspondent for ABC NEWS. Prior to his London assignment, Blakemore was a correspondent and field producer in Beirut, where he helped set up the ABC NEWS bureau in 1972. He joined ABC NEWS in 1970 as a radio reporter and sound technician in Beirut.

A former English literature and philosophy teacher at the American University in Beirut and the American Community School in Beirut, Blakemore is a graduate of Wesleyan University and a native of Chicago. In 1986, he was named a trustee of Wesleyan University. He frequently lectures on global television and the craft of TV newsgathering.